Illustrated Guide to City of White Plains Fire Agility Exam

General Instructions

Pass/Fail Tests

These tests are scored on the basis of passing or failing. You must pass the first two Pass/Fail tests to be eligible to advance to the timed tests. If you fail either the aerial Ladder Climb or the Ladder Lift, you are disqualified and may not proceed to the remainder of the tests. No second attempt will be allowed on any of the Pass/Fail tests. No point credit is given for any of the pass/fail tests. You must complete the Aerial Ladder Climb within five minutes, the Ladder Lift within three minutes and the Wall Climb within three minutes. No extra credit is given for speed on these tests.

No special equipment or aids may be used to assist you in performing these tests.  If you use gloves on these tests, you must supply them and the gloves must be a plain, leather palm and finger glove.

Event #1 Ladder Climb. An aerial ladder will be extended to approximately seventy feet and will be at an angle of approximately seventy degrees. You must climb to the top of the ladder, touch the top of the ladder, and return to the starting point on the ground. You may not stop for more that ten seconds at any point in the climb up or down. You must wear the safety belt supplied.

Event #2 Ladder Lift. A fourteen foot roof ladder is hung from the side of a fire truck. The top rail (side) of the ladder is about six and one-half feet above the ground. The bottom rail is about five feet above the ground. You will grab the ladder, lift it off the hooks, and lower it to the ground. You may not drop the ladder. You may not take the ladder off the hooks one end at a time. After you have placed the ladder on the ground, you will step back, The Test Administrator will then tell you to go ahead and put the ladder back on the truck.   You will put the ladder back the same way you removed it, by grabbing it in the middle and lifting it up onto the hooks. You may not lift one end and then the other. You must stand on the ground when taking the ladder from the truck and when putting it back onto the truck.

Event #7 Wall Climb. taken after the four timed tests. A five-foot high wooden wall is set up forty-five feet beyond the starting line. On the instructions of the Test Administrator, you will run to the wall, scale the wall, return around the end of the wall and proceed to the start/finish line. If you lose your grip when scaling the wall, you may continue to try to scale the wall until you succeed or the three-minute time limit is reached. You may not use a box, the braces on the wall or any other device to assist you in scaling the wall.

Timed Tests
At each timed test there will be an electronic stopwatch which is activated by an electronic beam. The four timed tests are each of equal importance. Your score will be calculated on the basis of how fast you perform the four tests.
The four tests must be performed in order. If, after finishing all of the tests, you wish to repeat one or more of the tests a second time, you will be allowed to do so. Remember! Your first attempt will probably be your best, so put your best effort into that attempt. No applicant will be allowed more than three minutes to complete any timed test.
No special equipment or aids may be used to assist you in performing these tests. You may or may not use gloves on the Hose Drag and Hose Carry.  If you use gloves on these tests you must supply them and the gloves must be a plain leather palm and finger glove. You will be required to use gloves on the Donut Lift and the Overhead Pulley and you must use the gloves provided by us.

Event #3 Hose Pull. The start/finish line will be ninety feet before a hydrant. A one hundred foot length of 2 1/2 inch hose will be connected to the hydrant and laid out on the opposite side of the hydrant from the start/finish line. You will stand three feet behind the start/finish line and, on the Test Administrator's instruction, run and pick up the nozzle and hose at the far end. You will place the hose over your shoulder and drag it back to the drop zone which is ten feet before the start/finish line. In the drop zone, will be a pad of canvas and you will place, not throw, the nozzle on the pad. You then continue across the start/finish line. The time clock is started and stopped as you cross the start/finish line. 
The 2 1/2 inch hose will not be charged with water. The hose must be carried as described, over the shoulder. The nozzle must be in front of you and may not drag on the ground. If the hose is dropped, you may pick it up, put it back on your shoulder, and continue to pull. Dropping a hose will cause you to lose several seconds in time. You should be careful not to lose control of the hose. You must have control of the hose when you reach the drop zone.

Event #4 Donut Lift. This test must be performed using the gloves provided. The gloves will have leather palms and fingers.
The test is performed from the roof of the Drill Tower which is six stories tall. A donut of 2 - inch hose is placed on the ground. A 3/4-inch Manila rope is tied to the hose and extends to the roof where the other end is tied.
Wearing a safety belt which has been provided, you will stand three feet behind the start/finish line and, on the instruction of the Test Administrator, cross the line, move to the rail, attach the safety belt, pick up the rope, and pull the donut of hose to the top, lifting it over the rail. The donut will be placed on the roof; you will unhook the safety belt and return across the start/finish line.
The coil of hose must be lifted by pulling the rope in a hand-over-hand fashion. You may not walk away from the edge of the roof while pulling the rope since you are attached to the rail by the safety belt. You may not release the safety belt until you are ready to move directly to the start/finish line.
There are open windows on the floors below where you are working. If you do not pull the rope evenly, the donut of hose will start to swing and may catch on the open windows. To be sure that you perform this test in the shortest time, try to pull the rope as evenly as possible.

Event #5 Hose Carry. You must carry a one hundred-foot section of 1 1/2 inch hose from the ground up five floors and back to the ground. The hose will be folded and on the ground at the start of the test. The hose weighs approximately fifty-five pounds. 
You will stand three feet behind the start/finish line and, on the instructions of the Test Administrator, cross the start/finish line and pick up the hose. The hose must be placed on either shoulder and carried in that manner up the internal stairway of the Tower. At the fifth floor, you must touch the tape marker on the standpipe on that floor with your free hand. This marker will be pointed out to you when you climb to the roof in preparation for the previous test. After touching the marker, you will immediately return to the ground level, place the hose on the ground in the drop zone, and cross the start/finish line. If you drop the hose, you may pick it up. However, the hose must be carried on the shoulder. Dropping the hose will obviously increase the time it takes to complete this test.

Event #6 Overhead Pulley. This test must be performed using the same type of glove used for the donut lift. You will use the gloves supplied.
A 3/4-inch Manila rope will be attached to a fifty-pound weight. The rope will extend upward and over a pulley and then down to the ground. For this test, you must pull the weight to a height of twenty feet above the ground and then lower the weight to the ground without losing control of the weight.
You will stand three feet behind the start/finish line. On the instruction of the Test Administrator, you will cross the start/finish line, run to the pulley, and grab the free end of the rope. You must stand on the concrete sidewalk. The weight will be resting in a bluestone area just at the edge of the sidewalk. The rope will be marked with a band of tape at a point twenty feet above the ground. You must pull the rope until you can touch the band of tape to the ground, at which time the weight will be twenty feet above the ground.
You will then lower the weight to the ground. The weight must be raised in a hand-over-hand fashion and lowered in the similar, but reverse, fashion. You must not lose control of the weight. If the rope slips through your hands or you lose your grip on the rope, you are disqualified. After lowering the weight to the ground, you return to the start/finish line.